China Discovers Method to Store Song and Photo Data Inside DNA

Forget about storing image and file data on hard disks or smartphone internal storage. China has a unique method for storage, namely through DNA. Dubbed DNA Cassette Tape, Chinese researchers have found a way to store data within strands of DNA fused to a 100-metre-long plastic strip. This is equivalent to storing 3 billion songs. According to the researchers, a 1 km tape can store 362,000 terabytes of data, or about 60 billion photos. This is far larger than most laptops, which can store 0.5 to 2 TB, and smartphones, which range from just 125 GB to 256 GB. “DNA has the potential to become the next-generation information storage medium due to its high storage density,” the authors stated in the research, quoted from Live Science on Wednesday (1/4/2026). “The DNA tape reel configuration maximises the utilisation of material space, making DNA storage profitability expand the existing area and capacity by increasing its length,” added the research team. According to the team, DNA storage also has the ability to be preserved for a long time. This is because the DNA strands are stored in a metal-organic framework (MOF) with protective layers. At least, the data storage tape can last more than 345 years at room temperature or 20,000 years at 0 degrees Celsius. The tape can even be repaired with transparent adhesive if damaged. To do this, each section of the tape will be printed with a barcode. This indicates which file is stored there. A camera will be placed on a machine similar to a cassette player. It will then scan the tape as it moves between two rollers, locate the file, and dip it into a base solution that releases the DNA. The DNA can then be sequenced. Meanwhile, the base sequence can be translated into a file code.